Van Wezel News!

IT’S MORE THAN A CONCERT…it’s the show of YOUR life!

IN THE MOOD, which opens at the Van Wezel on Sunday April 22, is much more than a concert as it reflects a time when America was in tune with sentimental ballads and up-tempo swing jazz rhythms, where the waltz and fox-trot competed with the wild, acrobatic jitterbug and boogie woogie crazed Hepcats who crowded the ballroom dance floors.  This revue features the IN THE MOOD singers and swing dancers  from the New York production with the blistering thirteen-piece String of Pearls Big Band Orchestra, belting out an authentic score of hits.

IN THE MOOD recreates this defining era in our history with a hypnotic big band, sizzling choreography, sassy costumes and fifty unforgettable songs, performed live on stage.  “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “In the Mood,” “Tuxedo Junction,” “Sing Sing Sing” and more.  This body of song did much to sustain national moral during World War II, the pivotal event of the 40′s.  The National Archives in Washington DC brought IN THE MOOD to their audiences as part of the commemoration of the 50Th Anniversary of WWII and the response was extraordinary with crowds lining up for hours before show time.  The engagement was twice extended and in 1993 the Archives presented a repeat performance, out-of-doors on Constitution Avenue.  The audience was composed of people of all ages and thousands stayed to dance the night away.  In affiliation with the USO, IN THE MOOD began a series of tours which played to audiences across the USA.

The show’s association with the National Archives and the USO was altogether appropriate, for much of the underpinning research was drawn from resources of these national organizations.  Since then IN THE MOOD has played to audiences in Europe and Canada and in 1977, the band and singers were selected to be part of the entertainment for the 53rd Presidential Inauguration Ball for President and Mrs. Clinton. 

 The show is beginning its 18th year of national and international performances.  The music and arrangements are as authentic as it gets as it reflects the only time in our history that all America was listening and dancing to their same kind of music. Its ability to portray the spirit of the music that moved a nation combined with the resurgence of interest in ballroom dancing and big band music (as evidenced with the tremendous popularity of Dancing with the Stars)   new generations are discovering the show’s captivating appeal.  

If you’re IN THE MOOD for a sensational all singing, all dancing nostalgic journey through the music which guided a nation’ spirit towards hope, promise and prosperity be at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Sunday, April 22 @ 7PM for the “Show of Your Life.”

…For our hearing disabled patrons who have not experienced the sheer joy of the Van Wezel’s new hearing loop system we would like to pass on the following note from a lovely lady who attended our performance of “Steps in Time” with Tommy Tune on the evening of March 14.

“Bob and I attended last night’s delightful performance of Steps in Time at the Van Wezel.  It was the first time that I have experienced the hearing loop in any setting other than the HLAS (hearing loss association) meetings.  I was amazed and absolutely delighted!  I have worn a hearing aid for 30 years and this was the first time I have EVER been able to understand the words spoken from a stage!  I had tears of joy in my eves as we left the theater!”  Kathleen                                                                            (reprinted with permission)

The hearing loop system was installed at the beginning of the 2011/2012 season at the same time that our new seats were installed.  The Van Wezel’s is the first system to be installed in a Performing Arts Hall on the Gulf Coast and was sponsored by the The Greater Sarasota Sertoma Club.

  Quite simply the performance sounds are transmitted from our sound system through the hearing loops directly to the telecoil in your hearing aid.  You hear the sound exactly as it is produced by the performers without any ambient sound to interfere and you control the volume!  All new hearing aids and a large percentage of the older models have telecoils installed.  Contact your audiologist to see if your hearing aid has the telecoil installed…. and if you are buying a new hearing aid make sure that it is equipped with one and experience the wonders of perfect hearing.

CHICAGO is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois.  The self described “rock and roll band with horns” began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a  predominately softer sound after becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads.  They had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970′s and 80′s.  They were second only to the Beach Boys in terms of Billboard singles and albums chart successes among American bands.

Chicago is one of the longest running and most successful pop/rock and roll groups of all time.  According to Billboard, Chicago was the leading US singles charting group in their early years and has maintained that momentum during a career that has seen them sell 100,000,000+ records. Including 21 top 10 singles, 5 consecutive no 1 albums, 11 number 1 singles and 5 gold singles.  Amazingly now in their 5th decade of performing, an incredible 25 of their albums have been certified platinum, a feat unmatched by any other American Rock band.  Chicago is the 1st American band to chart 40 albums in 5 decades of performing…a landmark accomplishment.  Chicago’s live 2005 DVD of their epic performance with Earth Wind and Fire was certified platinum in less than two months.

CHICAGO has among its decades of awards:                                                                             The American Music Award as America’s favorite rock group.                                      A Grammy for Best Pop Vocal by a Group.                                                                        Billboard Magazine’s Top 100 Artists of all time (they placed #12 and were the #1 American Band on the list*).                                                                                                    Peoples Choice Award as Americas Favorite Musical Group.                                          Awarded a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame

Not bad for a group of DePaul University students in Chicago in 1967.  The band was formed when two music students who had been playing local late-night clubs recruited a couple of other students from the University and decided to form a new group.  The musicians consisted of Marvin Cantera, Andre Jugo, Walter Parazaider, Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, James Pankow, Lee Loughnane and the last to join the group, Robert Lamm a student from Chicago’s Roosevelt University.  The called themselves The Big Thing and continued playing top 40 hits, but realized that they were missing a tenor voice (Lamm and Kath both sang in the baritone range); the voice they were missing belonged to local bassist Peter Cetera.

While gaining some success as a cover band, the group began working on original songs.  In June of 1968 they moved to Los Angeles and signed with Columbia Records and changed their name to Chicago Transit Authority.

Their first record was released in April 1969 it was a double album–very rare for a first release.  The album featured jazzy instrumentals, extended jams featuring Latin percussion, and experimental, feedback-laden guitar abstraction.  It sold over one million copies by 1970, and was awarded a platinum disc. The band changed their name to CHICAGO and their careers went platinum also.

CHICAGO consists of Robert Lamm (vocals and keyboard), James Pankow (trombone and arraignments), Lee Loughnane (Trumpet and composer), and Walter Parasaider (Sax, flute and woodwinds) these four musicians are all founding members of the band.  They have since added Vocalist and bass guitarist Jason Scheff in 1985; Tris Imboden, drummer added in 1996. Keith Howland their lead guitarist joined the band in1995 and the new kid Lou Pardini keyboards and vocals added in 2009.  One of the great successes of the group is their longevity.  

The adjectives ”greatest,” “musical icons,” “creative leaders,” “visionaries” are bandied about sometimes indiscriminately.  Van Wezel patrons are fortunate to be able to witness a band for whom those words were created.

CIRQUE DREAMS “POP GOES THE ROCK” is the 15th show produced in Dream Studios since its creation in 1993.  Since then the Cirque Dream Team has entertained more than 50 million people worldwide under the artistic direction of founder Neil Goldberg.  Cirque Dreams shows have appeared in theaters, casinos, theme  parks, at sea and on Broadway and have garnered international critical acclaim from USA Today, The New York Times, The Associated Press, CNN, The Today Show, Fox and Friends to name a few.  Fifteen shows, twenty scores, dozens of stage sets, thousands of variety acts and 10,000 award winning costumes have been produced at Dream Studios.

POP GOES THE ROCK is the newest musical stage spectacle from Cirque Dreams and is being presented at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall after 2 years of intensive development.  This one-of-a-kind variety show unites generations through a melding of gymnastics, dance, music, acting, fantasy, and lights.  The show’s stage wizardry blends an international cast of astonishing Cirque Dreamers who transform a carnival fun house into a rock n roll party that’s movin’ and groovin’ to an original live band.  Music and fantasy ignite the fun house when Jack pops out of his box and catapults the artists into feats of impossible grace, athleticism, mayhem and uncontrollable sensory spectacle that doesn’t stop until Jack’s back in the box.

The producers have looked at 10,000 songs from the Sony Library and chosen 24 from the 1940′s to the present time. “We re-orchestrated them in the carnival fun house with aerialists, live band and live singers,” stated founder and artistic director Neil Goldberg.  The songs for POP GOES THE ROCK are presented and performed live accompanying over 14 variety acts, more that 100 costumed characters, elaborate lighting, special effects and more.  Songs include Call Me Irresponsible,” “King of the Road,” “Womanizer,” “Beautiful,” “Zoot Suit Riot,” “She Bangs,” “The Heat is On,” “In the Summertime,” “Let it Ride,” “Apologize,” “No More Nice Guy,” “Never Gonna Let You Go,” “Like A Prayer,” “Right ‘Round,” “Jump,” “Rappers Delight,” “I Love the Nightlife” and many more.  This is music that ignites all generations in a laser show that ignites all senses.

If you are looking for an evening of “truly exhilarating” entertainment (New York Times) written by a “mad genius” (Washington Post); if you are longing to loose yourself in a “dizzy, glitzy, delicious, clever, funny” show (New York Post) by “the funniest man on the planet” (WNBC TV) head for the Van Wezel’s production of  Mel Brooks’ “high spirited and spectacular”musical (New York Daily News) Young Frankenstein.

This “blissfully funny monster mash” (Newsday) won the Outer Critics Circle and Broadway.com’s Audience Awards for Best Musical of 2008 and was the recipient of nominations in nearly every category for the Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League Awards along with a Grammy,  for the Best Musical Comedy Album of the year.

This “wickedly inspired re-imaging” of the Frankenstein legend based upon Mel Brooks’ classic comedy movie masterpiece follows bright young  Dr. Frankenstein (that’s Fronkensteen) as he attempts to complete his grandfather’s masterwork and bring a corpse to life.  Together with his oddly shaped and endearing helper Igor (that’s Eye-gor), his curvaceous lab assistant Inga, and in spite of his incredibly self-involved madcap fiance Elizabeth, Frankenstein succeeds in creating a monster-but not without  scary and hilarious complications.

With such memorable tunes as “The Transylvania Mania“, “He Vas My Boyfriend” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” the Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein is scientifically-proven, monstrously good entertainment!

The first Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s SOUTH PACIFIC in over half a century was presented at the Lincoln Center in New York City and played to sold out houses for over two years.  The heartwarming revival of Rogers and Hammerstein’s masterpiece which won 7 Tony Awards is taking the road and the Lincoln Center production will be featured at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall for two nights on April 3 and 4.  Although known for its endearing score which includes “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger Than Springtime,” “Bali Ha’i,” “There Is Nothing Like A Dame” and “A Wonderful Guy,”  South Pacific is also a deeply felt drama.  Its portrayal of Americans stationed in an alien culture in wartime combating not only the enemy but fear, loneliness and prejudice is as relevant today as when it was first presented in 1949.   It brings a message whose relevance reaches out to all generations. A message which captured the hearts of generations of theater goers whose love affair with South Pacific has not diminished with time.

“I’ve loved the show since I saw the movie as a kid” Tony Award winning scenic designer Michael Yeargan stated. “There’s something about it that is just perfect.  Sadly, a story about kids going off to war always seems to be timely. And the depiction of racism unfortunately is still a timely topic.”  It was Yeargan and director Bartlett Sher who were given the go-ahead by the Rodgers and Hammerstein estate to put together the first Broadway revival of the musical drama in more than 50 years.  “They really do look on it as the jewel in the crown,” Yeargan said of the position South Pacific holds in the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon.  “Originally, a 2001 London revival staged by Trevor Nunn was set to move to Broadway, but the estate was unhappy with the liberties the director took with the material and the Rodgers and Hammerstein office nixed a New York engagement. They held back on their permission ….convinced that it couldn’t be done again.  But Mary Rodgers, the composer’s daughter, saw the Lincoln Center Theater’s production of A Light in the Piazza directed by Sher and designed by Yeargan.  She was convinced that they would “put their trust unconditionally in the original material” and they were granted the much-coveted South Pacific revival right (for with they both won Tony Awards).

South Pacific is not just another revival.  It has been reconstructed in the way that a vintage photograph is restored….. not with fuzzy, hand-colored prettiness but with a you-are-there clarity. Though Michael Yeargan’s perspective-stretching beach scape of a set isn’t photo-realist, you somehow accept it as more real than real, just as the score feels from the beginning, like thought made effortlessly audible. Above all though, what impresses most about this South Pacific is how deeply, fallibly and poignantly human every character seems.  Nearly 60 years ago Brooks Atkinson, writing in The New York Times, described the show as a “tenderly beautiful idyll of genuine people inexplicably tossed together in a strange corner of the world.”

I think a lot of us had forgotten that’s what South Pacific is really about.  In making the past feel unconditionally present, this production restores a glorious gallery of genuine people who were only waiting to be resurrected.

Critical acclaim for the Joffrey Ballet:  “….classic ballet stretched to its modern limits, searing hot choreography and aggressive sensual energy”….New York Times                    ”……A heart stopping beautiful creation”….Chicago Tribune “sumptuous beauty and shimmering possibilities”….London Telegraph “Chi town” swagger and athletic power exhibiting machismo and energy …….tense, rapturous and achingly sensual. Combines classical technique with contemporary sensibility” Ottawa Citizen Herald

The Joffrey Ballet is interrupting its regular October-May schedule in Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre to embark on a domestic and international tour which will include a performance at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota Florida.  For more than half a century, The Joffrey Ballet has made a commitment to take world-class artistically vibrant work to a broad and varied audience so as to create a solid foundation that continues to support the company’s unprecedented capacity for achieving important “firsts”. Hailed as “America’s Company of Firsts”, The Joffrey’s long list includes being the first dance company to perform at the White House at Jacqueline Kennedy’s invitation.., the first to appear on American television, the first classical dance company to use multi-media, the first to create a ballet set to rock music, the first American company to perform a rock ballet in Russia (bringing with it the first American Rock band ever to perform in Russia), the first and only dance company to appear on the cover of Time Magazine, and the first company to have had a Major motion picture based on it……Robert Altman’s The Company.

The company was formed in 1956 and toured in a station wagon pulling a u-haul trailer.  They performed original ballets that were created by Robert Joffrey.  While Joffrey stayed in New York City to teach ballet classes and earn money to pay the dancers’ salaries Gerald Arpino led the troupe across America’s heartland.  The ensemble’s first performance in a major city was in Chicago in 1957.  The company then settled down in New York City where the 1960′s and 70′s were the golden era for the company.  They collaborated with the greats of the dance world-Alvin Ailey, Rudolph Nureyev, and Twyla Tharp.  In 1995 the ballet company left New York (retaining its New York based School of Ballet) to establish a permanent residence in Chicago. It now boasts a company of 42 dancers hailing from Maine to California and Canada to Rio de Janeiro. Its dancers have come from nine foreign cities-Istanbul, Paris, Madrid, Caracas, Rio, Buenos Aries, London and two from the Republic of Georgia.

  The company’s dancers, classically trained to the highest standards, express a unique, inclusive perspective on dance, proudly reflecting the diversity of America with its company and audiences and repertoire which includes major story ballets, reconstructions of masterpieces and contemporary works under Artistic Director Ashley C. Wheater (only the third person to ever serve as artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet following Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino).  The Joffrey Ballet (including its New York based Joffrey School of Ballet) has become one of the most revered and recognizable arts organizations in America and one of the top dance companies in the world.

When you think of crossover artists you usually think of artists making the transition from country to pop or blues to soul.  But that term has now taken on a new meaning.  The 5 Browns, “one family, five pianos, and 50 fingers,” has not only achieved unanimous critical acclaim but has ”crossed over” to capture the attention and imagination of young audiences worldwide. These inspired young pianists were hailed as “the biggest classical sensation in years,” by the New York Post following their debut concert in New York.  With all of their critical acclaim and success the most inspirational aspect of their careers is their effect on young audiences.  To quote a young Swiss fan “may God bless you for all you do, and I hope there is music in heaven….you guys are way too beautiful.  I am Swiss and I love classical music.  God bless, especially after what I heard today, you are strong and the music will carry you through a life of beauty and peace.”  And from the U.S.  “I was browsing YouTube and I discovered some of your videos.  Your work is impressive!  I’ve never heard anything like this and never imagined a concert with not one, not two, not three but FIVE pianos.  And these pianos sound awesome!  You are an inspiration to me….I love you guys!”

From the Grand National Theater in China to Symphony Hall in Chicago and from Suntory Hall in Japan to Lincoln Center in New York, The 5 Browns are delivering on their dream to wake up classical music by introducing it to the widest, largest and most excited audience they can find. Whether performing individually or together in various combinations from duo to complex five-piano arrangements, The 5 Browns reveal a deep connection to the intent of their material while   bringing a fresh energy and dynamic character to the color and tonal spectrum of their sound.

The 5 Browns, Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae, all attended New York’s Julliard School.  In fact, they became the first family of five siblings ever accepted simultaneously. The quintet enjoyed their first wave of critical acclaim in February 2002 when People Magazine dubbed them the “Fab Five” and at about the same time they were featured on Oprah and 60 Minutes.  Each of their CD’s went to #1 on Billboard Magazine’s Classical Album Chart. As the New York Post said “when these kids do Rachmaninoff, they’ll make you forget about Marshall Amps….this is all just pure sound.”  Entertainment Tonight called them “….five young prodigies who all play scorching piano.  Thundering down on five Steinways together, they’re button-down cute and somewhat otherworldly.”

This past summer The 5 Browns premiered a new work for five pianos and orchestra at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Watch The 5 Browns live! (click here for more info)

Pink Floyd is rarely discussed without using words like psychedelic, conceptual and provocative.  Their shows are described as being theatrical with mind-blowing lights and unsurpassed sound.  Their music cannot be referred to without making mention of their record breaking status.  Pink Floyd remains one of the most influential rock bands of all time, selling over 200 million records

“Wish You Were Here” is their transitional album, referred to often as their “favorite” release.  After the phenomenal success of their all-time “best seller”, “Dark Side of the Moon” (over two consecutive years on the Billboard’s charts), Pink Floyd was physically and emotionally drained.  “It was a difficult period, I have to say. All of our childhood dreams had been realized…biggest selling records in the world and the things you got into it for.  Everything had sort of come our way and you had to stop to re-assess what you were into it for.”  WISH YOU WERE HERE was the result of that introspection and re-evaluation.  Re-energized, the group premiered the album to great critical acclaim on July 5, 1975 and it soon reached #1 worldwide!  The Pink Floyd Experience recreates ”Wish You Were Here” in its entirety so as to create the true Pink Floyd Experience.  Their vision was not to produce a stadium show.  In fact, in an effort to create the true Pink Floyd experience, it would be just the opposite.  Two key factors were at the core of the plan:  KEEP IT INTIMATE…put the legendary combination of music, sound and lights in a theatre atmosphere and ENSURE THE SENSUAL ATTACK OF FLOYD…Give it top priority along with the music. The show is a full-on sensory assault…interpretive videos, plane crashes, flying pig, helicopter, psychedelic lighting and full quadraphonic sound which not only surrounds the audience but immerses it in a mind blowing experience…it’s all there LIVE….a show for the ultimate Floyd fan!

FAQ about Pink Floyd:

• Where did the name Pink Floyd come from?  The group was named for two singers: Pink Anderson and Floyd Council
• Who were the original band members?  Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, Syd Burnett and a later addition David Gilmore
• Are they all still alive?  Three of the original group are still with us, Mason, Waters, and Gilmore
• When was their last performance?  The survivors re-united for a single benefit performance in 2005
• When was Pink Floyd formed?  1965
• When was their first gig?  May 22, 1965 at Homerton College,  Cambridge
• How many records did they sell and what was their most successful single?  Well over 200 million records sold and their top single was “Another Brick in the Wall, part 2.”  PF has four Grammy nominations spanning 3 decades, and is the all-time chart breaker on the Billboard top 200 with “Dark Side of the Moon” appearing on the list for 741 weeks.  They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996
• How large is their current fan base?  They have over 11 million Facebook followers!  Over 1 million Pink Floyd catalog albums are sold each year worldwide!
• How were their successors chosen to carry on Pink Floyd?  The idea was not to choose a “tribute” band, but to assemble a group of 6 musicians who could bring the most authentic Floyd experience possible.  They were chosen not only to “play” the music but to interpret it a way to embody the very ”soul” of the compositions.
• Who are the Pink Floyd Experience musicians?  Tom Quinn:  bandleader, lead guitarist and relentless crusader for all things “Pink Floyd.”  Gus Beaudoin: bass guitarist, originally teamed with Quinn in 1977 “to play PF music for the pure love of the music”.  Zachary Throne:  guitar and vocalist,  has performed as a touring musician with many of the top rock groups, as a session vocalist for television and film, as a composer of commercial jingles and as an actor.  Jesse Molloy: saxophone player, a dynamic complement to the PFX sound.  John Cox:  a keyboard artist since the age of 9,  a leader of the ”space music” group.  Bob Sale:  percussionist,  has been playing drums professionally since he was 15.  Has backed up some of the top groups and performers as a touring musician and also works on movie soundtracks.

To paraphrase the title…. “it’s a drama, it’s a comedy, it’s a musical…no, it’s a Jew Grows in Brooklyn.”  It is the dramatic story of a Jewish family, one of the wealthiest in Poland, ending up in a work camp and their immigration to the United States;  it’s a comedic tale of a young  boy growing up in an Hasidic family who wants nothing more than to be an all-American boy;  it’s a story told in a large part through music backed by four instrumentalists.

When Jake Ehrenreich was growing up in Brownsville Brooklyn in the 1960′s, he wanted nothing more than to be an American.  But his Yiddish-speaking parents, who failed to understand the game of baseball or make sense of rock music, made it difficult for him to feel part of the mainstream culture.  In his critically acclaimed, Broadway smash show Jake explores how his family history, dominated by the shadow of the Holocaust, shaped the man he turned out to be.

A fan favorite on Broadway, where it played for almost two years, A Jew Grows in Brooklyn is presented as a multimedia show told through stories and comedy, video and photos, and music performed by a live band.  This young boy’s search for identity and the meaning of life ranges from the streets of Brooklyn and the struggle with his family’s past, to the laughter and rebirth of Catskills summers.  The New York Times rave review stated that it was “funny , touching and beautiful…you don’t have to be Jewish or Brooklynish…Jake Ehrenreich is dazzling”.    FOX TV said that it was “lots of laughs, but also a very serious show that has taken New York by Storm.  It has played to sold out audiences since it opened”. The New York Daily News said “it was a ball!  Enjoyed every minute of it”.  ABC TV  was quoted as saying, “it speaks to anyone hoping to live out the American Dream”! 

Jake’s story is personal and universal at the same time, and has now spawned a book by the Chicken Soup of the Soul publishers titled A Jew Grows in Brooklyn, the Curious Reflections of a First Generation American;  a TV documentary is due out this year and a related feature film is in  production.